Activity of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) compared with Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) risk levels. No patient from the glucocorticoid-naive group fulfilled the definition for very high SCORE risk. CEPT activity expressed as median (25th–75th percentile) pmol/3 h.
| SCORE Risk Category | Linear Trend | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CETP Activity | n | Low Risk | n | Moderate Risk | n | High Risk | n | Very High Risk | ß (95% CI) | p* |
| Controls | 62 | 49.2 (36.9–61.3) | 42 | 34.6 (26.0–53.5) | 6 | 31.9 (21.8–42.9) | 5 | 8.7 (1.5–15.8) | −9.3 (−14.8 – 3.7) | 0.00 |
| RA patients | 51 | 38.3 (27.9–50.0) | 31 | 26.8 (20.5–45.2) | 15 | 22.3 (16.2–44.3) | 4 | 17.7 (13.3–22.1) | −4.7 (−9.3 – 0.2) | 0.04 |
| GC-negative RA patients | 32 | 38.8 (30.4–50.7) | 9 | 28.4 (24.6–55.4) | 5 | 20.3 (16.5–39.6) | 0 | — | −4.9 (−11.2 – 0.8) | 0.04 |
| GC-positive RA patients | 19 | 37.8 (24.7–45.7) | 22 | 21.9 (17.1–39.7) | 10 | 16.3 (9.9–19.3) | 4 | 17.7 (13.3–22.1) | −5.7 (−10.8 – 0.5) | 0.03 |
↵* p value refers to a trend analysis model considering independent variable (SCORE risk) as orthogonal polynomials. GC: glucocorticoid; RA: rheumatoid arthritis.